Shadow's Dawn
by Disconnected with reality
Summary: It takes one choice to create a rippling effect. An effect that Ailbhe Demerath finds herself trapped in and irrevocably tangled in the middle of. Her reality becomes distorted as she finds herself unraveling secrets she didn't even knew she had and finding a past more dark then her current one. They say blood is thicker than water...but they never said blood couldn't be tainted.
1. Luna

**Chapter One: Luna**

I dashed through the blackness, desperately looking for a place to hide. My bones ached with effort and the muscles in the back of my legs burned. How long had I been running? The trees leaves, dyed silver in the moonlight, blurred as I flew past. I could hear their ghostly laughter as they gained on me. Green and red lights flew by my head as they shouted ugly words that I couldn't understand. The balls of burning light crashed into the trees, raining down on the landscape like an omen of death.

Sweat covered every inch of my skin, causing my clothes to stick to me like a second layer of skin. My lungs felt like they were about to collapse as I pushed myself to keep running. "You can't run forever!" A voice taunted, followed by chilling laughter. "You can't hide from us!" I gasped as my foot fell through a dark hole and slipped over the edge. Rolling violently down, sticks stabbed at my skin and jutting rocks tore at my legs. I cried out as my side collided with a tree. Dots clouded my vision and I felt myself losing consciousness. Warm liquid seeped out from the gash in my forehead and I dabbed at it gingerly. My blood looked black and I found myself fascinated by it.  
The trees around me blotted out the moon and it felt as if I was truly swallowed up by the earth, a part of me felt relieved, the part of me that just wanted to sleep for a thousand years. The part of me that wanted to heal. The voices had stopped, and I knew now was my greatest chance.  
I discarded my backpack regretfully, but it wouldn't be any good to me dead, either. Pushing myself up from the ground I started again, ignoring the trembling in my legs. The newly pulsing adrenaline gave me a burst of determination-and fear. My heart pumped so loudly in my chest I was sure they could hear it. I felt it hammer against the inside of my chest with an intensity that had a part of me wondering if it would suddenly stop. I hoped it wouldn't. I had to get back to him. I promised him I wouldn't be gone long. Branches snapped under my feet as I bolted in any direction.  
My shoulder slapped against a tree and it spun me around, giving me as nasty bruise. Yep, I'm gonna feel that in the morning. If I made it until morning, that is. I ran in the direction that it spun me, not even sparing the tree a glance, hoping it was a blessing and not a curse. The moon came into view ahead, big, beautiful, and cold. The moon had never given me any comfort. Many nights I had spent in blackened rooms, content with daydreaming that I wasn't alone, only to have it's rays flood through the windows revealing me.  
And only me.  
The air greeted me as I broke free of the confining forest and I could almost taste freedom. Almost. My feet skidded to a halt and I looked down in horror at the drop in front of me. The icy black waters stared back at me, reflecting the moons unforgiving rays. A dead end. I couldn't believe it. I spun around, trying to back-track, when my body froze.  
My mind registered the numbing amout of black figures dotted around the clearing. They stalked ever closer, clutching strange sticks in their hands as if they were wielding dangerous weapons, cruel smiles twisting their features. It was then that I knew I was done for. It was over.  
I was lost.  
I stumbled backwards, but not enough to go over the edge. It was silent for a moment, and then they broke it. Howls of victory shattered the silence. They all began talking at once, congratulating each other, mocking me, wishing me a happy end. The fear consuming my heart and mind vanished in the same instant. I didn't know why.  
I knew I was going to die.  
Why they had chosen me as their victim, I didn't care. How they were planning to do it, didn't matter. Were they going to poke me to death with their sticks? Stab me? Burn me with their balls of fire? All of that was irrelevant. Because a face entered my vision.  
His eyes were black and held no compassion. He held himself with such importance and authority that it was hard to resist His commanding gaze. His face was handsome and positively evil. It was engrained in every nook and cranny. Every feature and expression, every gesture. His whole being was consumed by it. But I knew Him. I didn't know His name, or where He came from. But He was familiar to me.  
"I know you."  
The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them. It seemed to slice through the noise, letting silence bleed through it once more. "You know me?" His charismatic voice floated over to me as He moved forward. The crowd parted instantly. That chuckle made goose bumps creep over my skin. I suppressed a shudder.  
His grey eyes met mine then and His mouth opened to mock such a statement. Until His very words were cut off. I could tell this Stranger felt it too. The invisible pull.  
"You only wish you could know our Great Lord!" A female with fiery red hair screeched from his side. I felt like I only had to look at one face to know the faces of everyone there. I could see they were all dressed the same as I looked at them for the first time. Each of them wore a half mask, resembling a gruesome skeleton, with heavy dark cloaks that obscured their figures. The cloaks floated in the wind, giving me the impression of black smoke. To be frank, they looked like...death. The embodiment of death.  
Tension seemed to squeeze the air around me as the silence stretched on. Lord..was that his name? Surely not? Either way He continued to stare at me, His eyes slightly widened. Until the word drifted from His mouth. " You.."  
And I knew that was my cue.  
I slowly edged closer while they shuffled restlessly about. "Is it time, my Lord? Is it time to kill her? She is the last right?" A voice literally quivering with excitement pleaded, no, more liked begged. She gazed at me with hungry eyes and licked her lips disgustingly. Her heavy breathing was mirrored by few and suddenly I didn't feel like their victim, instead I felt like their prey. But I wasn't going to make it easy for them.  
A smile of defiance curled my lips and I spun around swiftly. I bolted as fast as my legs could take me. The edge of the clearing came to greet me..and then I leaped. Air flew by my face, cooling the curning gash on my head. My mind seemed to process everything ten times faster and my senses became sharper. Because I noticed several things at once.  
One, His voice pierced the night is a such an involuntary cry that it seemed to echoe inside my head as much as it did in the night air. Two, a bird, one with giant, blazing wings entered the sky at the same time. The light it emitted blinded me with its beauty and a new voice became entangled in its very being. Three, the black water was approaching me with frightening speed. Four, my left shoe was untied and threatening to fall off. And lastly, the moon. It looked down on me with a knowing gaze. Closing my eyes against its glare I braced myself.  
Then I hit the water.


	2. Home Bound

**Chapter Two: Home bound.**

Warmth began to seep into my bones, relieving the pain of the cold. The heavy darkness that was weighing on me seemed to lighten to the point where I could breathe. My lungs sighed in relief. Slowly, I became aware of my surroundings.

There was a clock to the right of me, ticking in an irregular beat. Disinfectant and blood wafted strongly from my left causing my nose to scrunch up faintly. The sound of my even breathing was loud and my heartbeat was steady. The bed(was it a bed?) beneath me was broken in with use and my body felt small in its groove. The pillows were flat. I hate flat pillows.

A glow was coming from the foot of my bed, almost like a lantern. I could see its almost-too-bright redness through my eye lids. It was directed at my face and its warmth brought my skin back to life. I felt trickles of water trail down my cheeks as the ice on my eyelashes melted. My fingers twitched involuntarily and I wanted to smile but my lips still felt as cold as ice.

Other than that it was silent. There was no movement, no shuffling. I had only the clock and my heartbeat to keep me company. I waited until the three hundredth and twenty second before opening my eyes. They opened slowly, stiffly. I had to blink a couple of times to clear my blurry vision. As it began to fade everything came into focus.

I was on a bed.

I was alone.

And I didn't know where the heck I was.

The last thing I could remember was being swallowed up by the black waves and the sheer cold of it. But after that, nothing.

I thought maybe this was the after life..but I quickly discarded that thought as my head began to throb. My fingers ran lightly over the stitches. There were sixteen.

My eyes became trained on my surroundings. The room itself was huge. Like a patients wing at an olden hospital. The ceiling towered above me with an almost never ending height. The structure if the room itself was almost..medieval looking and the decor was...definitely medieval. I scrambled to the end of my bed and peered out. My jaw nearly dropped. Rows of unused beds starting from the top of the room to the curving end packed the far wall. The windows between them informed me it was night time. I stared at my refection for a moment, then averted my gaze from my damaged appearance. From how crappy I looked I could tell I definitely wasn't dead. I pulled back the curtain to the left of my bed(blatantly ignoring the metal bowl with blood stained interior, and the bloody needle resting on a wet cloth beside it.) It was the same this side, too.

"Where on earth do you think you're going?" A voice of an elderly woman exclaimed, startling me. My hand dropped the curtain and I spun around, looking for the owner. But the room was empty. "Now, now, don't take me for a fool!" The voice warned again, angrier. I pulled back the curtain on my right side, too, but nothing. I was the only one in the room.

It was then movement above the doorway caught my eye. I felt my eyes widen as the woman in the picture moved towards another figure ranting and raving at them. I had to blink a couple of time to make sure I wasn't seeing things. Then I blinked some more. The painting was moving. A talking painting. Oh my god. Before I could scream the door breezed open and a real person walked through. I wasn't sure what to do at that moment, my mind felt like it was on overload. So I stayed perched on the end of my bed, and watched the figure draw closer to me. The woman before me was aged with time, but the air around her felt anything but frail. Her steadily graying hair was pulled back into a severe bun and her garments dropped elegantly to the ground in a practical and professional manner. Her gaze was kind behind her spectacles and she smiled at me in a motherly way. "Ailbhe Demerath, we've been expecting you for quite a while my dear." Her voice was calm and light but my shoulders still tensed. "Expecting me? Who are you? Where am I? How did I get here?" I demanded, feeling so confused. She nodded her head knowingly. Pulling up a chair she folded herself down silently. "My name is Minerva McGonagall and I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." She said this slowly, to give me time to react. At first I wanted to laugh. Then I wanted to cry. So instead I settled for asking a question. "How did I get here?" My fingers clutched at the covers tightly. "The Aurors were tracking down Death Bearers when they came across you. They saw you jump and saved you, bringing you directly here. That was when I realized who you were dear."

"Who I am? Why? Why were you expecting me?" I asked weakly. Mrs. McGonagall smiled at this. "Why, you were supposed to be a student of this institution Ailbhe. Only you never showed up. Your name has been gathering dust on our register for five years." I was stunned. Five years? Those entire five years I spent hiking to nowhere, sleeping on the streets, squatting in empty houses, I was suppose to be here?

Then I did cry.

Hot tears streamed down my face and they wouldn't seem to stop. "Why?" I croaked. "Why was I suppose to be here?" The Headmaster stood up then and her soft gaze enveloped me. "Because you're a witch, Ailbhe."

I gazed down at the cloak in my lap, running my fingers over its stitching. The Hogwarts symbol was beautiful. "Come to the main hall when you are ready, we need to get you settled in as soon as possible." She had announced suddenly, handing me the cloak. "Settled in? I don't-I don't have any money to pay for this..this school thing. I don't have any.." I still struggled to spit it out, even after all these years. "I don't have any parents you can contact. I have nothing to give you." She didn't look surprised at this. Only smiled and said "It's all taken care of. Come when you're ready, I'll be waiting." Then left me alone to gather my thoughts. It had been ten minutes since then. Sighing I got up and tied the cloak around my shoulders. My body shuddered lightly as my bare feet hit the cold floor momentarily before I slipped them into the slippers provided. Guess there was no helping it. Now or never. I walked towards the door, mentally preparing myself for whatever was waiting for me.

So this was what a school looked like? I thought as I wandered through the hall ways. I felt self conscious in my pjamas and prayed like hell no student would be out at this time.

The moving pictures hushed and whispered as I walked by, I stared straight ahead, determined not to be freaked out. When I reached the big double doors that Professor McGonagall had described, my stomach started to churn. The interior was dimly lit as I entered. Four massive mahogany tables stretched the length of the great hall. At the top there was another table, I had a feeling it was where the professors sat. Long, colourful flags also hung from the arches, with different crests on them. The green one was decorated with a slithering snake. The blue one was consumed by a large bird, spreading its wings in flight. It reminded me of the bird I saw tonight. Or was it last night? I couldn't tell. The yellow one made me smile, I had always liked badgers. And the last one, the red flag, it adorned a proud lion. I paused for a moment to gaze in wonder at the floating candles above me. Everything here so surreal. It was all fantastic just like "Magic." I jumped slightly as Professor McGonagall came up behind me. She rested her hand gently on my shoulder and guided me up the middle of the four tables. We walked slowly, giving me time to take in my surroundings. "There are four houses at Hogwarts. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. In their first year, each student are sorted into one of these four houses and remain in them until they graduate. These four houses are always in competition with each other, be it for the House Cup, in Quidditch, or in Academic studies." She said with a chuckle. "How do you sort them into the houses?" I wondered, did they pull names out of a hat? Did the students choose? "You're about to see." We came to rest in front of a worn stool. Its three legs looked like it could barely hold itself up. But that wasn't the curious thing. Instead it was the hat that was sat atop it. The hat itself didn't look like much and I wasn't very impressed with it.

Until it started talking, that is.

"Ah!" I cried out, jumping a nearly ten(figuratively.) feet in the air. I patted at my heart frantically as the Headmaster gave a hearty chuckle. "Does everything here talk?" I gasped "Cause I really don't think my heart can take much more of this." I warned the Headmaster as her chuckles died down. "This is the sorting hat, it's what we use to sort each student. Now sit." She ordered, retrieving the hat. Gratefully I plopped down, not missing the "You behave now!" whispered to the hat. Gently she placed the it upon my head.

"Well, well, what do we have here? A latecomer? I never thought I'd see you, Ailbhe Demerath." I froze at the sound of my name. "Hmm...difficult, very difficult. You are a woman of many nature, Miss. Demerath. Plenty of courage, yes. Cunning, indeed. You've got a brilliant mind hidden under that skull of yours, no doubt about that. Longing for a place to belong to, you don't really care where I put you, do you? I can tell. That may be true, but where to put you? The house of Gryffindor values daring, bravery, and nerve. Yes, you exhibited that in your encounter last night didn't you?" My palms started to sweat as he saw the insides of my mind. I felt exposed. And I hated it.

"Hufflepuffs values are also attune to yours, patience, hard work and loyalty." He listed off their qualities, one by one. "Hmm but you are intelligent, oh yes and witty, Ravenclaw calls to your blood aswell. And last but certainly not least, your ambitious and resourceful nature marks you as one of Slytherins own." I glanced up wearily at the rim of the hat. I pushed down on my knee with my palm, forcing my toe to stop tapping. I took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. Whatever happens, happens. I'll be okay. I'll be strong enough to take whatever comes at me, just like Mom...I let my thoughts trail off as her face filled my vision. So strong and brave, so loving. Yes, for Mom. I'll never forget my promise to you. The hats chuckling broke me from my thoughts. "Yes, yes there's no doubt about it now. Better be...Gryffindor!" Mrs. McGonagall face broke into a wide smile. She clasped her hands together.

"Congratulations Ailbhe!" Her voice was laced with pride as she gave me a quick hug. "I'm sorry Ailbhe, usually all students enjoy the feast and festive atmosphere after they've been sorted but.." She trailed off, looking around the empty hall. But I didn't mind, inside I was beaming. I belonged. I was a Gryffindor. My heart felt lighter as we strolled towards the door. "Oh yes, you asked if there were anything you should know?" The Headmaster said absentmindedly. "Hmm?" I replied too high of happiness to even notice. "We do have ghosts." Professor McGonagall said cheerfully, wrapping her arm around my shoulders.

"What?!"

I picked nervously at my uniform as I stared at my reflection, waiting for class to begin. My auburn hair fell in messy curls over my shoulders, I gave up trying to tame it years ago, and my moss green eyes were a little too intense and full of worry. My skin also looked pale as usual and I couldn't resist glancing at it in distaste. I didn't tan, heck I didn't even burn. I just get paler. How is that even possible?! My eyes narrowed at the light splashes of delicate freckles across my cheekbones and nose. Ew. I ran my fingers through my fringe, pushing it out of my eyes.

Sighing I closely inspected the crease between my eyebrows and promptly smoothed it out with my finger. My glare turned on the figure behind me. "Can you please stop staring at me?" I beseeched, my voice full of venom. "Don't be so cranky! It'll give you wrinkles!" Moaning Myrtle cackled, taking delight in my obvious misery, then stopped as my glare turned deathly. "Alright! Alright I'm going!" She caved before disappeared into an open toilet. Water exploded onto the walls of the cubicle. That girl really didn't do 'subtle' did she? I sighed. Ghosts.

My grip on the marble sink became tighter as the unease in my stomach gave way to butterflies. I wouldn't call myself 'social' or 'people friendly' so the idea of standing in front of a room full of adolescent strangers wasn't exactly appealing. Really, can you blame me? The longest amount of time I spent in the company of another being was Rat, a street boy who took me under his wing when I first came to England. If it wasn't for him, I probably would have been taken in by the authorities by now. I wonder how he's doing..

I winced as the dull throbbing in my rib became strong enough for me to grit my teeth. No need to make this anymore painful than it already is I decided, my fingers closing around the small vile in my pocket.

It wasn't anything fancy, just a small purple bottle made out of glass. The colour of the contents inside were hidden by the purple tint. Probably for the better. I had told the Headmaster that I had already taken it last night, but when I tried to, the smell was almost overbearing. It smelled like old socks and rotten potatoes. When I complained she informed in a matter-of-fact-tone that it was medicine, it wasn't suppose to taste good, it was supposed to help me heal. And I'll admit the other reason I hadn't drunk it was the poorly concealed look of concern on her face before she left me last night. It hadn't helped my suspicions this morning when she looked relieved I was still alive.

I eyed the little bottle doubtfully. "Ailbhe,dear, are you in there? It's almost time for class!" The Headmasters voice came from the corridor. Quickly I uncorked it and downed it in one smooth motion, before I could chicken out. My face contorted in disgust as the after taste sat heavily in the back of my throat. "Ack!" I coughed. When, even after three mouthfuls of water, the taste didn't go away, I gave up and picked my relatively empty satchel off the ground. I made eye contact with myself once more. "Just stick with me kid." I said to my reflection with a wink. Then I slowly walked to my doom.


End file.
